THE MARKS OF A CULT (non Biblical Christianity)

A cult religion (outside the teachings of Biblical Christianity) will teach one or more, sometimes ALL of the following. From these fundamentals, you can do a quick research of a religious system and determine whether or not it is a cult. A CULT WILL: 1. Deny the Bible as the ONLY Word of God 2. Deny the Deity (God in the flesh) and the Sufficiency (He ALONE is the way to heaven) of Jesus Christ 3. Deny that Salvation is by God's Grace ALONE (They teach that ultimately you are saved by keeping a system of works, rituals, sacraments, etc. All, associated with THEIR religious system, of course. 4. Teach that if you do not belong to THEIR particular organization (ONLY) you will not be saved

Masonry and the Christian
The Masonic Lodge and the Christian Conscience By John Weldon

Summary
The Masonic Lodge in America is a highly influential organization claiming some four million members. Masonic leaders argue the lodge is not a religion but merely a fraternal body that seeks to better society and also assist the Christian church. It does this, they claim, by helping Christians become better members of their own faith.

The truth is that Masonry is a distinct religion that espouses teachings incompatible with Christian faith in the areas of God, salvation, and other important doctrines. It is therefore inconsistent for any Christian to swear the oaths of Masonry to uphold and support the Lodge when Masonry's own ritual, doctrines, and impact in history have denied and opposed biblical teaching.

Millions of men throughout the world, including four million Americans, look to the Masonic Lodge for brotherhood and fellowship. They are proud to be part of an organization that engages itself in worthwhile causes, such as children's hospitals. Many of them feel strongly about the Masonic tenets of the Fatherhood of God, the brotherhood of man, and the immortality of the soul.

Masonry (or Freemasonry) claims to be the friend of Christianity, and yet it contains doctrines that are contrary to biblical teaching. As unpleasant as it may be, it is the obligation of the discerning Christian to point this out, both for the sake of the hundreds of thousands of Christian Masons and for those who might yet become Masons.

The Secret Teachings of the Masonic Lodge: A Christian Appraisal, both of which I (John Weldon) coauthored with Dr. John Ankerberg. I urge interested readers to secure these volumes for further study in dealing with this issue. This article is primarily excerpted, with some changes, from Bowing at Strange Altars.)

MASONRY AND SAL VATION It is my contention that the Masonic ritual (i.e., Masonry's ceremonial rites of initiation that all Masons must pass through) of the First, Second, and Third Degrees teach all Masons exactly what God condemns as a false gospel, namely that a person is saved and goes to heaven as a result of his or her personal character and good works. As all Christians know, the Bible places such a teaching under God's curse. Paul said in Galatians 1:8-9: "But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that we have preached to you, let him be accursed."
The Bible clearly teaches how a man is saved: "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast" ( Eph. 2:8-9. Cf. John 3:16; 5:24; 6:47; Rom. 3:28-4:6; 11:6).

Proof of Masonry's false gospel can be found in standard "Monitors" — the official textbooks containing authoritative Masonic ritual which are more or less uniform for each state. In the ritual, the Masonic symbol of the lambskin or white leather apron is explained, in part, to each candidate as follows: "The lamb has in all ages been deemed an emblem of innocence; he, therefore, who wears the lambskin as a badge of Masonry, is thereby continually reminded of that purity of life and conduct, which is essentially necessary to his gaining admission into the Celestial Lodge Above, where the Supreme Architect of the Universe [God] presides.

But Masonry also teaches that individuals may be saved by being good members of their respective religions — whether Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, Jewish, or other. For example, Dr. Jim Tresner, director of the Masonic Leadership Institute, affirmed that Masonry "leaves the member to devote himself to his own religious faith to receive...salvation."

THE MASONIC GOD During the ritual, Masonry has its candidates swear that they believe in God, typically called the "Great Architect of the Universe." It also informs them that all Masons are to bow before the sacred name of Deity, and explains that all Masons of every country, religion, and opinion are united in the belief that they have been created by one Almighty Parent. The question is; Is this Almighty Parent or Great Architect — the God of the Masonic Lodge — also the God of the Bible? The answer is clearly no.

In the "Masonic Bible," published by the A. J. Holman Press, we are told this "Almighty Parent" is the one true God that all men worship. This is so regardless of the name by which He is identified: Jehovah, Krishna, Buddha, Allah, or some other.

Masonry thus argues that all people of varying faiths are really praying to the one true God, the universal Father of humankind, regardless of the name they give him. Nevertheless, this "Almighty Parent" of Masonry is a different God than Christianity teaches — a fact conceded by both Masonic sympathizers as well as Masons themselves.: "The Masonic Great Architect of the Universe appears more like the Aristotelian 'First Cause' than the personal God who has revealed Himself in the Bible."

If Masonry rejects the God of Christianity, however, how can it logically claim to be the true friend of Christian faith? Further, if it offers an unknowable, unapproachable, and undiscoverable God beyond the different concepts of God found in other religions, how can it appropriately or logically ask the men of those religions to join its local lodges?

Masonry does this because it seeks to develop a worldwide religious brotherhood beyond the sectarian religious beliefs of humankind. To further this goal it must, at one level, accept all religions, while simultaneously pointing and leading to a "higher" truth beyond separatist religion — a truth that is capable of uniting all men in a common universal brotherhood, that is, the fraternity of Masonry.

Masonry therefore encourages all members of different religions to pray to and worship their own respective gods: Brahma, Krishna, Allah, Buddha, Jehovah, Vishnu, Jesus, and so forth. This is the means by which Masonry can appeal to the members of all the different religions in the world and attempt to unite them in a universal "common brotherhood."

But then Masons cannot possibly all be praying to the same God because all these gods are different in nature and in what they expect of humans (if they expect anything). In other words, the Masonic doctrine of the spiritual "Fatherhood of God and Brotherhood of man" is only valid if there is some larger God beyond the contradictory lesser gods that people worship.

JESUS CHRIST "Freemasonry today does not see Jesus (God the Son) as the unique Son of God, Creator and Savior of the world.”

The Masonic Ritual of the First, Second, and Third Degrees never instructs its members that Jesus is the only mediator between God and men. It never tells them they can't truthfully call God their Father until they have a relationship with His Son. It doesn't tell initiates that they can't build their spiritual house until they ask Jesus Christ to forgive them of their sins and build it for them. No Mason is ever told officially that a man can never do enough good deeds or live a pure enough life to gain admission into the Celestial Lodge Above, or that entrance into heaven comes only by faith in Jesus Christ. The truth is that by its ritual, teachings, and prayers, Masonry does ignore and deny Jesus Christ.

IS MASONRY A RELIGION? The overwhelming majority of Masons reject the idea that Freemasonry is a religion. The various monitors of the Grand Lodges and statements from the overwhelming majority of Masonic leaders in the past and today deny that Freemasonry is a religion".

No one denies that the vast majority of Masons say Masonry is not a religion, but one must go beyond mere claims. For example, virtually all Mormons claim their religion is Christian, which is demonstrably false.

Masonry claims it has the qualities of a religion but is still not a religion; or that it is religious but still not a religion. However, the latter point makes as much sense as to say that a man has no intellect but is intellectual, or that he has no honor but is honorable. Religious is defined as "imbued with or adhering to religion or a religion."

All this is why numerous leading Masonic authorities have publicly confessed that Masonry is, in fact, a religion. For example:

Joseph Fort Newton: "Everything in Masonry has reference to God, implies God, speaks of God, points and leads to God. Not a degree, not a symbol, not an obligation, not a lecture, not a charge but finds its meaning and derives its beauty from God the Great Architect, in whose temple all Masons are workmen."

Perhaps it is worth noting that of all the conservative Christian bodies who have studied Masonry, I discovered almost unanimous agreement among them that Masonry is a religion and that Masonry and Christianity are not compatible. The conclusion of a Presbyterian report is only one of almost two dozen denominational inquiries that concluded Masonry is a religion: "In our study of Freemasonry's promotional literature, through personal interviews with Masons, and by letters received from Masons, we were told that Freemasonry is not a religion. However, a close scrutiny of the ritual of the lodge and books written by authoritative Masons points to the contrary.

Joining Masonry requires "actions and vows out of accord with Scripture."

"Participation in Masonry seriously compromises the Christian faith and testimony."

"Membership in Masonry and activity in its Ritual lead to a diluting of commitment to Christ and His kingdom."

Certainly Christians stress on individual freedom of conscience cannot be carried so far as to accept the right of Christians to join the Mormon church or the Baha'i Faith. The issue is not individual conscience. The issue is, Can Christianity and Masonry be logically joined together without violation of scriptural teaching and Christ's glory? If not, then the verdict of each Christian's conscience must be to abstain from the Masonic Lodge, and the obligation of each church body must be to proclaim this basic incompatibility of Masonry and Christianity.

A Comparison Chart

This is another site for a Comparison Chart between Freemasonry and Christianity (4Truth.net) http://www.4truth.net/site/c.hiKXLbPNLrF/b.2950179/k.FDF7/Freemasonry_and_Christianity__A_Comparisn_Chart.htm

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